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The Coroner's Gambit (Song)
The Coroner's Gambit is the fifth song on the album The Coroner's Gambit. An alternative version of the song (the "original take") is available for free download at themountaingoats.net. Lyrics When death came calling today I heard the gentle grace of his cadences I couldn't say no I couldn't say no When he showed me his new silk scarves Laid out on a shiny black plastic tray Couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say no I couldn't say no And I'm sorry I couldn't You know how badly I wanted to Didn't want, didn't want, didn't want, didn't want, didn't wanna lose you But his smile was dazzling And his eyes were sparkling Like moonlight on the water at midnight Couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say no I couldn't say no Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"I did a totally hilarious thing in, like, 1999. There was a new technology called Napster, developed by a guy named Shawn Fanning... And, uh, and so I had recorded, um... So I had an idea for the next record that was gonna be like, half in a studio-studio, like letting a lot of people play on it, and half home stuff. But I took a Greyhound bus to Omaha and recorded with Simon Joyner and Chris Deden and a bunch of their friends, but I got sick on the bus. Who knew that a Greyhound bus is probably not the best thing to ride en route to a recording session? But I got incredibly sick, so most of what we recorded was unusable. Um, and the version of the title track of the album had been among those. It went totally different... well, that didn't come out so good, maybe it won't be on the album, and then like I did a different version that was totally droney, that did make the album, that became the title track, which was 'The Coroner's Gambit'. So, so then Napster happens, and I had this older version of 'The Coroner's Gambit'. And you know, the Mountain Goats weren't really a inaudible proposition, to say, 'Here's a single, it's the other version.' So I went on Napster and uploaded it. And, but it wasn't getting any action, so I found some guy that had a lot of Mountain Goats stuff in his folder and I said, 'You might want to check this out.' He said, 'Where'd you get this?' I said, 'I don't know'. That is how this version of 'The Coroner's Gambit' was up on YouTube fifteen years later. This is the original version of 'The Coroner's Gambit'." -- 2019-04-26 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. Things Referenced in this Song * Like Shadow Song, this song addresses the death of Rozz Williams http://kylebarbour.org/tmg/coroner.html#fn:rozz. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2007-09-30 - Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA *2007-10-01 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2019-04-26 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2019-04-27 - Dogfish Head Brewery - Milton, DE *2019-04-28 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA *2019-04-30 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY *2019-05-04 - Bronson Centre - Ottawa, ON *2019-05-08 - Mr. Smalls - Millvale, PA *2019-05-14 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI *2019-05-15 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL *2019-05-17 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *2019-07-19 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2019-08-08 - The Broadberry - Richmond, VA *2019-08-10 - SummerStage - New York, NY *2019-09-05 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2019-09-09 - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR Videos of this Song * 2019-04-26 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. * 2019-08-08 - The Broadberry - Richmond, VA References Category:The Coroner's Gambit songs Category:Video